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A review by ajb24
You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
3.0
3.5 stars*
I really enjoyed the portrayal of Deaf culture and the casual inclusion of her lesbian moms (I think it helps normalize that a family can come in many forms). I also liked the emoticon chapter headings they were cute.
The plot itself was fine, I don’t have a big opinion on it either way.
However, Julia’s attitude could be quite annoying at times, and I didn’t really like how the Donovan/Jordyn/Julia storyline played out. Plus, YP’s weight issues are never fully resolved or even fully developed, so I kind of wish the author had spent less time focusing on Julia’s teen angst and more on developing a deeper relationship between the two.
Overall it was a fun read and I felt like I learned something about the d/Deaf community (even though the author herself isn’t deaf, she used several sensitivity readers so I’d like to believe that she captured various nuances as accurately as she could). I appreciate the representation included but feel as if the plot could have been handled better if more focus was put on developing Julia’s relationships to other characters instead of listening to her brood and angst all the time.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of Deaf culture and the casual inclusion of her lesbian moms (I think it helps normalize that a family can come in many forms). I also liked the emoticon chapter headings they were cute.
The plot itself was fine, I don’t have a big opinion on it either way.
However, Julia’s attitude could be quite annoying at times, and I didn’t really like how the Donovan/Jordyn/Julia storyline played out. Plus, YP’s weight issues are never fully resolved or even fully developed, so I kind of wish the author had spent less time focusing on Julia’s teen angst and more on developing a deeper relationship between the two.
Spoiler
it also kind of bothers me that we never find out “Yoga Pants” actual name - I thought eventually once they started hanging out together more often it would be revealed, but the nickname sticks for the entire novel and I’m not a huge fan :/Overall it was a fun read and I felt like I learned something about the d/Deaf community (even though the author herself isn’t deaf, she used several sensitivity readers so I’d like to believe that she captured various nuances as accurately as she could). I appreciate the representation included but feel as if the plot could have been handled better if more focus was put on developing Julia’s relationships to other characters instead of listening to her brood and angst all the time.